REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons for the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Food Programme, the International Organization for Migration and the World Meteorological Organization.

Syria

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, read the following update on behalf of the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria:

“Special Envoy de Mistura received an invitation from the Government of Kazakhstan, on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey – the guarantors of the de-escalation agreement – to participate in the high-level meeting in Astana on 28 and 29 November 2018.

The Special Envoy, in consultation with the Secretary-General, accepted to be in Astana where, within the framework of the Geneva process and in accordance with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015), he will chair a meeting with senior representatives of Iran, Russia and Turkey in their capacity as the conveners of the Sochi meeting of January 2018. This meeting will seek to accelerate a concrete outcome on the establishment of a constitutional committee – taking note in particular of the Joint Statement on Syria issued in Istanbul on 27 October 2018 by the Presidents of the Republic of Turkey, the French Republic, the Russian Federation and the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany that called for the establishment and early convening, considering the circumstances, by the end of the year of the constitutional committee in Geneva that would achieve the constitutional reform.

The Special Envoy will be present in Astana in a spirit of not leaving any stone unturned and maximizing the chances of the Istanbul Joint Statement to be upheld. He has offered clear proposals and the full range of creative ways forward. He strongly appeals to the three countries to do what needs to be done now to support the UN-facilitated political process. He will report on these consultations to the Secretary-General and in due course to the Security Council.”

Responding to a question from a journalist, Mr. LeBlanc said that the Secretary-General was aware of the reports that chemical arms had been used against civilians in Aleppo and was following the situation closely. If their use by one of the parties to the conflict were to be confirmed, it would be considered to be a clear violation of international law.

Children in Afghanistan

Alison Parker, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), made the following statement:

“2019 will mark 40 years of conflict in Afghanistan – four decades that have left a terrible impact on the country’s children. This year, 2018, has been especially challenging: a spike in violence, unprecedented levels of drought and food insecurity, increased poverty and fledging social service systems are taking a disproportionate toll on children. Today:

· Some 6 million people need humanitarian assistance, over half of whom are children.

· Over 3 million children are out of school 60% per cent of whom are girls.

· Severe acute malnutrition among children is amongst the highest globally, with about half a million children affected.

· Practice of child marriage is around 35 per cent.

· Immunization coverage is only 46 per cent and, in some districts, as low as 8 per cent.

And it is getting worse. Children are paying the price in terms of the impact on their education, health, mental and physical well-being, their lives and future.

Violence and bloodshed are a daily occurrence. A father told me that when he asked his four-year-old son what he would like him to bring home from work, the child did not ask for ice cream, chocolate, toys or games – just that he wanted him to come back home safely. That has become the greatest wish of every family and child today in Afghanistan.

Some 5,000 children have been killed or maimed within the first three quarters of 2018, equal to all of 2017.

Additionally, increasing insecurity and a significant rise in school attacks puts almost two decades of progress at risk for Afghan children. 181 schools were attacked between January and September 2018, more than double the 82 schools attacked during the same period in 2017. Over 1,200 schools are closed due to insecurity, meaning close to 600,000 students have been deprived of their rights to education.

The situation is exacerbated by what has been described as the worst drought in decades with some 2 million people affected, over half of whom are children. The drought has exacerbated the practice of child marriage, affecting at least 161 children (155 girls and 6 boys) from the drought-affected population in Badghis and Herat provinces. The key drivers of child marriage are the loss of assets and livestock, resulting in even heavier family debts. Some families have been forced to make a tough choice between subjecting the entire family to starvation or giving up one or more children into marriage and/or servitude to the creditors.

Furthermore, the number of children suffering severe acute malnutrition levels is expected to hit the 600,000 mark by the end of the year and over 100,000 school-aged children have been affected by the drought.

The situation for children is dire and the needs are huge. Right now, USD 9 million is urgently needed to fund life-saving interventions, especially water, education and child protection.

As leaders converge in Geneva for the Conference on Afghanistan, we once again make an urgent plea for an end to violence. UNICEF calls on all parties to the conflict to adhere to and respect humanitarian principles, ensure the safety and protection of all children and guarantee their access to quality basic services.

We owe it to them. Children must never pay the price with their lives, health, education and future.”

Responding to questions from journalists, Ms. Parker said that the UNICEF child protection subcluster had found that 80 per cent of households in Badghis had been in debt before the onset of the drought and had been forced to use their children as collateral. The younger children were betrothed but remained with their own families, but those aged 11 or sometimes even younger would be handed over to the husband. Of the 161 children identified as having been given in marriage, 6 were boys. There were also reports of forced child labour and indications of recruitment of children by armed groups. Full details could be found in the Secretary-General’s report.

Afghanistan drought

Babar Baloch, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), made the following statement:

“UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, this past Saturday began the first in a series of airlifts to western Afghanistan bringing thousands of tents for people displaced by a mix of conflict and an ongoing severe drought.

Together the drought and ongoing conflict have seen over quarter of a million Afghans being displaced in this region of the country since April.

Currently, some 220,000 families are living in makeshift shelters in the western provinces of Herat, Badghis and Ghor. And, with winter approaching, in conditions that are increasingly desperate. Already we are seeing an increase in child deaths.

UNHCR’s airlift will comprise 12 flights in total, bringing 15,100 family size tents – with the aim of easing the plight of almost half the displaced population. The tents are being loaded in Pakistan’s Lahore and being shipped in as close as possible to the affected populations via the airport at Herat. There, ground crews have been handing them over to our partners for delivery.

The tents are part of a larger aid delivery being organized by the Afghan Government and its partners to Herat and Badghis. With many displaced having settled on private land and facing risk of eviction, UNHCR is also supporting the Government’s efforts to make land available.”

Mr. Baloch, in answer to a question, said that poverty, conflict and drought had combined to severely impact the three western provinces in the form of severe food insecurity and acute malnutrition.

Yemen: food stocks

Hervé Verhoosel, for the World Food Programme (WFP), read the following statement:

““Over the past two weeks, operations at Hudaydah port have decreased by nearly half. Shipping companies appear to be reluctant to call at Hudaydah port because of the high levels of insecurity in the city.

As 70 percent of imports come in through Hudaydah port, a decrease in food coming through the port would likely impact food stocks country wide—Yemen needs 250,000 megatons (mt)/month of wheat stocks in the country.

The Yemeni population not receiving food assistance from the World Food Programme and other international organizations- around 20 million people at the moment- are dependent on the commercial market to feed their families.

If this situation persists or further deteriorates, it will have a drastic impact on food availability and prices in the markets and make it increasingly difficult for Yemeni families to cover their basic needs.

WFP continues to call on all parties to protect the port of Hudaydah, which is a vital lifeline for humanitarian as well as commercial deliveries into Yemen. Any disruptions to the port operations would hamper humanitarian efforts to prevent famine as well as increase food prices in markets even further, making it extremely difficult for the majority of Yemenis to feed their families

Operations at Hudaydah port have decreased by 47 percent over the past two weeks. During ‘normal conflict times,’ over a two-week period around 200,000 mt bulk wheat and bagged cargo offload at Hudaydah port, while over the past two weeks only five vessels carrying 114,000 mt of bulk wheat and bagged cargo have done so.

Since November 2017, vessels with WFP and commercial containerized cargo have not accessed Hudaydah port and have been diverted to Aden, where there is currently a two-month backlog due to clearance procedures.

Concerned authorities within the Government of Yemen are taking concrete actions to streamline and improve efficiency.

In Aden, WFP alone has about 1,700 containers awaiting clearance and has incurred demurrage charges of some USD 2 million. About 10,000 commercial containers are also awaiting clearance. Alternative options, such as through Salalah, will increase cost and transport times.

There is commercial food stock in Yemen for 2.5 months.

WFP is waiting for the results of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification survey to determine the number of people we will provide with monthly rations of life-saving food and nutrition support. We already know that additional capacity will be needed.

WFP is in the process of increasing the use of Aden port as well as Salalah Port in Oman to ensure that all people in Yemen who are on the brink of famine receive monthly food rations from WFP. We need every corridor, road and bridge to remain open to ensure we can consistently assist the hungriest people throughout the country.

Once again, WFP continues to call on all parties to protect the port of Hudaydah, which is a vital lifeline for humanitarian as well as commercial deliveries into Yemen. Any disruptions to the port operations would hamper humanitarian efforts to prevent famine as well as increase food prices in markets even further making it extremely difficult for the majority of Yemenis to feed their families.“

In answer to questions from journalists, Mr. Verhoosel said that the United Nations had recently announced that up to 14 million people in Yemen could soon be on the brink of famine. WFP had enough food stocks in the country to last two months without any reduction in rations, and was doing everything possible to divert capacity to ports other than Hudaydah and adapt its distribution system. It was concerned that the private sector was not able to bring food stocks into the country through Hudaydah port. It was calling on all parties to provide reassurances so that all Yemenis would be given the possibility of feeding their families.

Responding to questions from journalists, Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that Martin Griffiths, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, had issued a statement when visiting Hudaydah the previous week, indicating that agreement had been reached that the United Nations should actively and urgently pursue detailed negotiations for a leading role in supervising the port activities. It was believed that such a role would preserve the essential humanitarian pipeline that started there and would serve the people of Yemen. It was also hoped that it would contribute to international efforts to increase the capacity and effectiveness of port operations. On Monday 26 November, the Special Envoy had met in Riyadh with Yemeni Government officials to discuss the proposed consultations with the parties in Sweden; he was in Amman on Tuesday 27 November, continuing his dialogue with the parties to find solutions to the dilemma.

Return of Ethiopian migrants from Yemen

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), read the following statement:

“The UN Migration Agency (IOM) this week (26-29 November) began assisting 418 Ethiopian migrants stranded in Yemen to safely return under IOM’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) operation. This is IOM’s first airlift since shortly after the conflict broke out in 2015 and the largest VHR operation carried out by IOM in Yemen to date.

On Monday (26 November), 102 Ethiopian migrants travelled from Sana’a International Airport to Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. In three subsequent flights scheduled through Thursday, another 316 migrants will follow. More than a quarter of the passengers – 121 of the returning 418 migrants – are minors.

IOM has been assisting many of the migrants returning this week for at least six months. Already in 2018, IOM’s VHR programme has assisted 668 migrants to return to Ethiopia on ships carrying migrants across the Gulf of Aden. Unstable weather conditions at sea combined with escalated fighting in and around Al Hudaydah ports posed major operational challenges in previous return operations.

IOM estimates that nearly 100,000 migrants reached Yemen in 2017.

An upcoming conference, Drawing on Peace Dividends in the Horn of Africa to Ensure Urgent Enhancements in the Management of Migratory Flows to Yemen and the Gulf Countries, will be convened by IOM next week in Djibouti. The event will bring together governments in the Horn of Africa, and the Gulf, as well as UN and NGO partners, to identify practical solutions to dangerous migration flows and inform the new planning phase of the Regional Migrant Response Plan.

The governments of Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, as well as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, provide support for IOM’s voluntary return programmes.

IOM migrant assistance and protection activities in Yemen and Ethiopia are funded by Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America as well as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.”

Responding to questions from journalists, Angela Wells, for the International Organization for Migration, said that the airlifts were a result of coordination with the Governments of Yemen and Ethiopia. It was hoped that the airlifts would continue, as they were much safer than the transfers by sea that had taken place in the past. It was estimated that, as of the end of 2018, there would be 150,000 migrants in Yemen, some of whom were Somali or Eritrean, but the vast majority being from Ethiopia.

El Niño update

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), made the following statement:

“There is a 75-80% chance of an El Niño developing by February 2019, although it is not expected to be a strong event, according to the latest update from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Sea surface temperatures are already at weak El Niño levels in part of the tropical Pacific, although the corresponding atmospheric patterns have not yet materialized.

WMO accompanied the El Niño Update with a global seasonal climate update, which indicated that precipitation patterns predicted for December-February resemble those normally associated with El Niño. In some regions the precipitation response has been weak, however, or not in keeping with those typically associated with El Niño.

The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a naturally occurring phenomenon involving fluctuations of ocean surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, coupled with changes in the overlying atmospheric circulation. It has a major influence on weather and climate patterns over many parts of the world.

Sea surface temperatures in the east-central tropical Pacific have been at weak El Niño levels since October 2018. However, the atmosphere has not yet responded to this additional warmth, and the upper level winds, cloud and sea level pressure patterns do not yet reflect typical El Niño features.

WMO will release its provisional statement on the state of the climate on Thursday 29 November.

A new federal report finds that climate change is affecting the natural environment, agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, and human health and welfare across the U.S. and its territories. Key findings include Human health and safety, our quality of life, and the rate of economic growth in communities across the U.S. are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Without substantial and sustained global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and regional initiatives to prepare for anticipated changes, climate change is expected to cause growing losses to American infrastructure and property and impede the rate of economic growth over this century.

The UK’s most comprehensive picture yet of how the climate could change over the next century has been launched on Monday

The UK Climate Projections 2018 (UKCP18) include that summer temperatures could be up to 5.4 °C hotter by 2070, while winters could be up to 4.2 °C warmer. The chance of a summer as hot as 2018 is around 50 % by 2050 Sea levels in London could rise by up to 1.15 metres by 2100 Average summer rainfall could decrease by up to 47 per cent by 2070, while there could be up to 35 per cent more precipitation in winter.”

In response to journalists’ questions, Ms. Nullis said that, although the forthcoming El Niño was not expected to be a strong event, there were many other factors that influenced weather events, all against the background of a dramatically altered climate. Conditions had been neutral over the previous few months, but there had nevertheless been serious flooding in India and severe hurricanes in the United States. The United States report was very detailed and based on the best available science, produced by hundreds of scientists. Its findings were similar in tone to those of the United Kingdom report and another issued by Switzerland two weeks previously.

Flooding in Iraq

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), read the following statement:

“Large-scale flooding beginning on the morning of Friday (23/11) has wreaked havoc across Iraq, killing several people and causing widespread damage to homes, infrastructure and agriculture, and worsening the living conditions of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In Ninewa governorate, Qayarrah Airstrip and Jeddah IDP camps were particularly affected by the flooding. Among the approximately 7,500 families residing in Qayarrah Airstrip Camp, 2,392 tents were completely flooded forcing hundreds of households to take refuge in the IOM health clinic and other communal areas. The health clinic in Qayarrah Airstrip Camp hosted nearly 300 individuals, providing IDPs with dry blankets, heaters and emergency health care services. The IOM ambulance transported ten individuals in need of medical assistance but unable to reach the clinic.

Mr. Millman added that water levels were knee-deep and that children had had to be put on the roof of a communal kitchen to keep them out of the mud. IOM had moved in to do what it could to help within hours of the flooding, and videos of the situation could be accessed on its website. It was sobering to be reminded that, even two years after the fighting in Mosul had ended, thousands of persons were still in need of assistance as the cold winter approached.

Responding to questions from journalists about events around the migrant caravan that had arrived at the Mexico-United States border, Mr. Millman said that, while it was extraordinary that tear gas and rubber bullets had reportedly been used, similar events, including one death, had occurred some weeks previously at the border between Guatemala and Mexico. There had been a total of seven deaths of migrants in the caravan over the previous month; any loss of human life was to be deplored.

All migrants should be encouraged to travel safely, following regulations, for the benefit of all, including the governments of countries of transit and destination and the migrants themselves. Any barriers to legal entry only created opportunities for criminal groups that enriched themselves and made the whole process less transparent. Governments had the right to defend their borders, but asylum seekers had the right to expect to be given due process in the consideration of their claims.

IOM had some time previously conducted a survey of a small caravan of migrants leaving El Salvador that had found that only 12 per cent of the approximately 1,700 asked had been aware of the asylum process and intended to apply.

Babar Baloch, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that, while border management was the prerogative of national governments, border security and international protection were not mutually exclusive and each request for asylum should be assessed individually. It was as yet unclear what had happened at the United States-Mexico border, but UNHCR was trying to assess the situation at the border point concerned and establish whether individuals who needed international protection had access to the appropriate procedures. It did not have figures for the migrants at the border but was aware that 3,800 persons had filed asylum claims in Mexico.

IOM Director General welcomes Uzbekistan as 173rd Member State

Joel Millman, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), read the following statement:

“The 109th Session of the UN Migration Agency’s Council, which opened today in Geneva, has voted to support the application of the Republic of Uzbekistan to join IOM as a Member State, bringing the total membership to 173.”

Mr. Millman added that, with a population of 33 million, Uzbekistan was one of the most enduring transit routes for migrants, as well as being a destination country.

Announcements

United Nations Correspondents Association announcement

Nina Larson, President of the United Nations Correspondents Association (ACANU), made the following statement:

“As many of you know, the Association of Correspondents Accredited to the United Nations in Geneva, ACANU, is preparing to celebrate its 70th anniversary next February. In that context, we are creating two new international journalism awards to compensate outstanding reporting on the work done by UN agencies and other international organizations based in Geneva, as well as on human rights issues.

The aim is to highlight the crucial work done by journalists here, but also around the world, to raise awareness about, explain and shed critical light on the multitude of decisions and actions with far-reaching global consequences that come out of International Geneva.

A call for submissions went out last month, and the deadline for submissions is on December 1. The winners will be announced next February and the awards ceremony will take place in connection with a range of other events we are planning in the context of ACANU's 70th anniversary celebrations.

We have already received a number of submissions, but we are hoping for many more, both from colleagues here in Geneva, and also from journalists elsewhere who cover work that the Geneva-base organizations do around the world.

Submissions can be made in any language, as long as a translation is provided to English or French, the working languages at the UN in Geneva.

You can find the conditions and other details you need on ACANU's website, and the submission process is very simple, so I would encourage you all to take part.”

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development announcements

Catherine Huissoud, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that the 2018 version of the UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics would be launched on 5 December 2018, offering the most recent forecasts for gross domestic product and trade in goods and services, including in an innovative interactive online version.

Ms. Huissoud also said that the Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD would be participating in the 24th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24) in Katowice, Poland.

She further announced that, following the success of the eCommerce Week held in Geneva, the first regional edition of the event would take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 10 to 14 December 2018. There was much at stake, notably following the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, which opened the way for enhancing the ability of African countries to engage in and benefit from e-commerce and the evolving digital economy.

World Health Organization announcements

Fadela Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that a press conference would be held on Tuesday, 27 November at 3 p.m. in press room 1 to launch an important joint report by WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Progress towards regional measles elimination – worldwide, 2000–2017, looking at trends in vaccination against measles and the gaps between different regions in vaccination coverage. Despite the existence of a very effective and cost-effective vaccine, not much progress was being made towards the elimination of the very serious disease. The report was embargoed until 7 p.m. on Thursday, 29 November 2018.

Other announcements

Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, said that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (26 November–14 December) was this morning holding a public informal meeting with representatives of civil society on the implementation of the Convention in the three States parties whose reports would be reviewed this week, i.e. Qatar, Honduras and Iraq. This afternoon, the Committee would begin consideration of the report presented by Qatar.

Mr. LeBlanc also said that the Committee against Torture (12 November-7 December) was this morning beginning its consideration of the report of Maldives, whose answers to the questions raised by the Experts would be heard tomorrow afternoon.

He added that, as every year, a Special Meeting would be held at the Palais des Nations next Thursday, 29 November, to mark the annual observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Press conferences:

Tuesday, 27 November at 4.30 p.m., Room III
U.S. Mission to the United Nations Geneva
Geneva Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan
Speakers:
· Ambassador John Bass, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan
· Ambassador Alice Wells, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs
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Wednesday 28 November at 4:00 p.m., Room III
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration (OSRSGIM)
Briefing on the Global Compact for Safe Orderly and Regular Migration and the Intergovernmental Conference in Marrakesh
Speakers:
· Louise Arbour, UN Special Representative for International Migration
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Wednesday 28 November at 6:00 p.m., Room III
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) / Government of Afghanistan
Conclusion of the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan 2018
Speakers:
· His Excellency, Mr. Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan
· Tadamichi Yamamoto, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan
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Thursday 29 November at 10:00 a.m., Press Room 1
UNICEF
Embargoed until 00:01 GMT on 30 November 2018
Launch of UNICEF Child Alert: Crisis in the Central African Republic: In a neglected emergency, children need aid, protection – and a future (Embargoed until 00:01 GMT on 30 November 2018)
Speakers:
· Christine Muhigana, UNICEF Representative, Central African Republic
· Marixie Mercado, lead author of the Child Alert, UNICEF
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Thursday 29 November at 11:00 a.m., Room III
WMO
The provisional statement on the state of the climate in 2018, released to inform the annual UN climate change negotiations
Speakers:
· Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General
· Maxx Dilley, Director of Climate Prediction and Adaptation Branch
· Omar Baddour, scientific coordinator of the report

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Monday 3 December at 11:00 a.m., Press Room 1
WIPO
Launch of WIPO’s 2018 World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) report
Speakers:
· Francis Gurry, WIPO Director General
· Carsten Fink, Chief Economist, WIPO

The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/unog271118